Moving stairway handrail protective device



y 7- e. E. FIEDLE'R 2,080,980

MOVING STAIRWAY HANDRAIL PROTECTIVE DEVICE Filed Oct. 28, 1935 INVENTORI ATTORNEY Patented May 18, I937 MOVING STAIRWAY HANDRAIL PROTECTIVEDEVICE George Everett Fiedleii Bloomfield, N. J., assignor to OtisElevator Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New JerseyApplication October 28, 1935, Serial No. 47,059

6 Claims.

This-invention relates to protective devices for the handrails of movingstairways- In a moving stairway installation, the handrails are usuallycarried by pulleys around the ends of the balustrades at the landings,where openings are provided in the balustrades. from which thehandrailseinerge and into which they disappear. Several expedients havebeen employed to prevent the fingers or hands of passengers from beingcaught between the balus trade and the handrail at the point where thehandrail enters the balustrade. These have in-' volved considerableexpense and have presented a poor appearance.

It is the object of this invention to provide at the openings in thebalustrade through which the handrail passes an arrangement that willpermitfree running movement of the handrails and that at the same timewill prevent injuries to passengers due to having their fingers or handscaught and damage to the moving stairway due to attempts to insert canesor umbrellas into the space between the balustrade and the handrail.

In carrying out the invention, a guard of deformable elastic materialand conforming to the contour of the handrail is positioned in thehandrail opening, a slight clearance being provided between the outsideof the handrail and the guard. Inward movement of the guard isprevented, any pressure on the outer surface acting to deform the guardso that the clearance between the handrail and the guard is reduced ortaken up completely at the place where the pressure is applied.

The features and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe specification and appended claims.

In the drawing:-

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a portion of a moving stairwayshowing the balustrades equipped with protective means in accordancewith the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a portion of a balustrade at the handrailopening;

Figure 3 is a section taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, with the balustrade end coverremoved.

Referring to Figure 1, the balustrades of the moving stairway l0 aredesignated H and I2. The handrails l4 and I5 are carried by pulleysaround the ends of the stairway through openings provided in the ends ofthe balustrades. Guards iii are positioned in the openings beneath coverplates II, the cover plates being provided with openings l8 to receivethe handrails. The cover plates are secured to the balustrades by meansof screws 28. As the construction for each balustrade is identical, onlythat for balustrade 12 will be described in detail.

Referring to Figures 2, 3, and 4, a C-shaped handrail I5 is illustrated.According to the preferred construction, guard I6 is in the form of acollar of flexible rubber having an opening 2i) of the contour of thehandrail. The size ofthe opening is such as to provide a slightclearance, say one-sixteenth of an inch, between the guard and thehandrail. The exposed surface 34 of the guard ispreferably bevelled asshown in Figure 3. A backing plate 2| is provided for the guard. Thisplate also is formed with an opening I9 of the contour of the handrailand of a size to permit a bead 23 formed on guard Hi to extend betweenthe handrail and the plate. This prevents the edge of the platecontacting with the handrail and also serves to locate guard H5 inposition with respect to'the plate 2|. The guard is sprung around thehandrail, while the plate is formed of two symmetrical parts which arejoined together after assembly around the handrail by clip 24 and screws25. At the opening 21 through which the handrail passes, the balustradeis provided with a pocket 26. The guard and its backingplate aresecurely clamped in this pocket in proper position with respect tothehandrail by cover plate H. The cover plate is formed with a shoulder 30-around opening l8, and this shoulder engages guard IE to hold it inposition. Before the guard I6 is finally secured in place the handrailis operated with the cover plate removed until a complete run has passedthrough the guard. During this run, the guard is adjusted to obtain amean clearancefor the entire run of the handrail. The cover plate isthen secured to the balustrade, which clamps the guard in its properposition.

In operation, assume that a person, such as'a small child, holds hishand on the handrail until the handrail reaches the point at which itdise appears into the balustrading. The opening I8 in cover plate I! islarge enough to permit the hand to butt against guard I6 without beingpinched between the cover plate and the handrail. The pressure of thehand at the point or points where it engages guard l6 deforms the guardand, in view of the fact that backing plate 2| prevents a bodilydeflection of the guard, the result is a closing up of the smallclearance between the handrail and the guard. Thus the person is forcedto release his grip from the handrail and cannot be injured by havinghis fingers pinched. Furthermore, the guard effectually prevents theinsertion of articles such as canes or umbrellas into the balustrading.If desired, the guard I 6 may be mounted so that, instead of beingclamped tightly, it is permitted to move to adjust itself toirregularities as operation of the handrail takes place.

From the above'it will be seen that the invention involves the provisionof a guard for the handrail opening in a balustrade which fits ableelastic material fitting around the hand-' rail with a small clearance,means for preventing bodily deflection of said guard, and means forsecuring said guard and said deflection preventing means in place insaid opening. 7

2. A protective device for a handrail opening in a balustrade of amoving stairway comprising,

yieldable elastic means in said opening fitting around the handrail witha small clearance, and a backing plate behind said yieldable elasticmeans to limit rearward deflection thereof,

3. A protective device for a'handrail opening in a balustrade of amoving stairway comprising, a guard of rubber having an opening thereinconforming to the contour of the handrail, said opening being of a sizeto provide a small clearance between the handrail and the guard, abacking plate for said guard having an opening therein conforming to thecontour of the handrail, and means for securing said guard and saidbacking plate to said balustrade in said opening in position withrespect to the handrail.

4. A protective device for a handrail opening in a balustrade of amoving stairway comprising, a guard of flexible rubber having an openingtherein conforming to the contour of the handrail so as to fit aroundthe handrail, said opening being of a size to provide a small clearancebetween the handrail and the guard, a rigid backing plate for saidguard, said plate having an opening therein conforming to the contour ofthe handrail so as to fit around the handrail, said opening in saidplate being larger than that in said guard, a cover plate, and means forsecuring said cover plate to said balustrade to clamp said guard andbacking plate in said balustrade opening against the balustrade inposition with respect to the handrail.

5. A protective device for a handrail opening in a balustrade of amoving stairway comprising, a guard of flexible rubber having an openingtherein conforming to the contour of the handrail so as to fit aroundthe handrail, said opening being of a size to provide a small clearancebetween the handrail and the guard, a rigid backing plate for saidguard, said plate having an opening therein conforming to the contour ofthe handrail so as to fit around the handrail, said opening in saidplate being larger than that in said guard, a cover plate having an,opening for said handrail, said opening in the cover-plate being largerthan the opening in said guard so as to expose a considerable portion ofthe surface ofsaidguard around the handrail, and means for securing saidcover plate to said balustrade to clamp said guard and backing plate insaid balustrade opening against the balustrade in position with respectto the handrail.

6. A protective device for a handrail opening in a balustrade of amoving stairway comprising, a guard of flexible rubber having an openingtherein conforming to the contour of the handrail so as to fit aroundthe handrail, said opening being of a size to provide a small clearancebetween the handrail and the guard, a rigid backing plate for said guardwith two secured 'to-

